Waiting, Waiting, Waiting – HOPE Challenge Day 3
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12
Waiting…ugghhh! None of us likes to wait. As I am writing this, I spent the morning at the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) so my sixteen-year-old son could take his road test and get his driver’s license. You see, he turned sixteen in May and had been waiting and waiting to get his license.
Quarantine had delayed his on-the-road training. Waiting. Then, he finally got to finish his training during the summer. Then, we found out that if he took another online course, it would reduce the amount our car insurance went up, so his father and I required him to complete that course. More waiting.
When he got that done, we were all set to go take his road test, and he got sick. Wait some more. After a couple of weeks of cold-like symptoms, the doctor ordered a COVID test and he had to quarantine until we got the negative result. And more. By this point, we were in a really busy time. Still waiting.
Finally, the day arrived…
Finally, we made it to a week with a day where the DMV would be open and we had the time to go. We showed up 40 minutes before it was supposed to open and got in the line outside the building, already about twenty people long. Oh, to be so close and yet still waiting.
During this whole time of delays and deferments, my son tried to stay happy and cheerful about it, but the waiting wore on him. However, when the door finally opened and we made it inside the DMV, he was so excited.
When he came out after his road test with his license, finally, his smile almost stretched off his face. He was filled with life and joy.
A hope fulfilled brings joy
Now, this is just a small illustration of the truth of this verse. Some of you have been dealing with small things and some with overwhelmingly big issues. Maybe you are waiting for cancer treatments to work. For a baby. For a husband to get saved. Sometimes the waiting lasts months or years or decades. And the waiting wears on you, making your heart sick.
However, when that longing is fulfilled, it is so much sweeter because you have endured the wait. It fills you with life and joy.
Hope Challenge Day 3 Action Step:
Do you have something on which you are having to wait? Maybe your heart is sick with longing. Take a moment to think about what it will be like when the waiting is over and ask God to help you endure. Ask Him to help you to continue in hope and peace as you wait.
Hope Challenge Day 3 Prayer:
Dear God, You know my heart. You know what I am hoping for. Help me to trust Your will and Your timing. Help me to stay hopeful and patient, enduring with joy and peace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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